Question:

I have been doing the routine of jogging for one minute and walking for four minutes for three weeks now and I would like to build up my jogging slowly. What would be the next step?

Answer:

Okay, that's great, so you are building up a base and now you need to increase the jogging and decrease the walking to keep improving. For stage three, increase the jogging to two minutes and reduce the walking to three minutes and repeat this six times for a total of 30 minutes.

Every two weeks increase the jogging by one minute but make sure when you jog it's at a very slow pace as we are after distance and duration, not speed. Aim to do these sessions three times per week and aim for a total work-out time of 30 to 40 minutes.

A lot of people run too fast too soon when trying to improve their running and always wonder why they never seem to improve. A good speed to aim for is a speed just faster than walking! For stage four, your running will be for three minutes and walking for two minutes. Repeat six times for a total time of 30 minutes.

Stage five will be four minutes jogging and one minute walking.

Stage six will be five minutes jogging and one minute rest (by this stage you can now increase the jogging time by one minute every week).

Stage seven will be six minutes jogging and one minute rest.

Stage eight will be seven minutes jogging and one minute rest.

Stage nine will be eight minutes jogging and one minute rest.

Stage 10 will be nine minutes jogging and one minute rest.

Stage 11 will be 10 minutes jogging and one minute rest.

Once you get can get to jogging for 10 minutes non-stop, slowly you will quickly improve your fitness levels. From here you are well on your way to becoming a successful jogger!

The best way to improve from here is to now join a group or running club and learn from other runners tips on technique, training programs, stretching etc. Also check out www.coolrunning.com.au, Australia's largest running website with great info, calendars and forums.

Dean Piazza — your online personal trainer
www.getfit.com.au